His research focuses on racial/ethnic relations in the U.S., immigration, and comparisons of socio-demographic outcomes among different Asian American groups, such as small business ownership, characteristics of ethnic enclaves, and interracial and interethnic marriage. He also conducts sociological research and analysis on the experiences of Asian international students at U.S. colleges and universities, and on various aspects of Asian American popular culture and political activism. He is the author of the book Asian American Assimilation: Ethnicity, Immigration, and Socioeconomic Attainment.

He is a strong supporter of "public sociology," the movement to make sociological research and analysis as widely accessible and applicable to real-world issues and situations as possible. As such, he is the creator of Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America, an information resource on the historical, political, demographic, and cultural issues that affect today's diverse Asian American population. He has been interviewed and quoted by media outlets such as the New York Times, CNN, the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, PBS, and the U.S. State Department, to name just a few.

DirectorAsian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program(January 2004 to Present)
The Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate is an interdisciplinary program consisting of eight courses that provides students with (1) a thorough understanding of both Asian and Asian American histories, experiences, and contemporary issues and (2) multi-disciplinary and multi-method research, analysis, and thinking skills, both of which prepare students for the increasingly diverse, globalized, and interconnected world of the 21st century.

Employment History

Worked within a small team of primary investigators to conduct NSF-funded research (including ethnographic field observation, structured interviews, focus groups, facilitated meetings, and administering survey questionnaires) on how New York State government agencies use information technology to work collaboratively and to improve their public services.

Developed and oversaw multi-level community education and outreach planning, implementation, and evaluation, including peer education programs; hired, supervised, and evaluated staff of coordinators for six separate but interrelated targeted programs.

Teaching Experience

Sociology of the Asian American Experience (Sociology 240)
Explores both the similarities and differences in the histories, experiences, and cultures within the Asian American population, along with specific issues including immigration to the U.S., assimilation and ethnic identity, media images and popular culture, demographic trends, ethnic enclaves, anti-Asian discrimination, socioeconomic mobility, gender dynamics, and emerging connections between Asia and Asian Americans.

Sociology of Immigration (Sociology 244)
This course examines who, why, and how different groups immigrate to the U.S. and what happens once they arrive -- how they are received by mainstream society and how they adjust to their new country. Specific issues include settlement, education, identity, assimilation, discrimination, employment, language, marriage, legal status, and political participation.

Sociology of Globalization & Inequality (Sociology 297B)
This course examines the sociological history, content, and implications of globalization and inequality around the world and particularly in the U.S. Specific issues include theories of globalization; the global economy; political globalization; globalization and culture; environmental sustainability; local-global linkages; civil society, human rights, and anti-globalization social movements; globalization and gender/race/ethnicity; international migration; and new global inequalities.

Bridging Asia and Asian America Colloquium (Asian Studies 397B)
Meeting in Lewis Hall (location of the Asian & Asian American Residential Community), this weekly seminar combines class discussions, guest speakers, film screenings, and small group activities to focus on the political, economic, and cultural intersections between Asians and Asian Americans.

Demography of Minority Groups (Sociology 361)
Introduction to using demographic data and statistics to understand public policy issues faced by American racial/ethnic minorities across education, prejudice and discrimination, immigration, wealth and poverty, crime, health care, etc.

Race, Gender, Class & Ethnicity (Sociology 106)

Research Interests & Current Projects

My main research interests involve using Census data to analyze and compare socioeconomic and demographic outcomes of assimilation and integration among Asian Americans. These include (1) self-employment and entrepreneurship; (2) marital assimilation and intermarriage/interracial marriage; (3) education, occupation, and income; and (4) characteristics of ethnic enclaves and communities. I also have secondary research interests in analyzing the sociological contexts of anti-communist political activities of Vietnamese Americans and the academic and social experiences of international Asian students studying in the U.S.

Cited by the New York Times, "For Asian-American Couples, a Tie That Binds" article by Rachel L. Swarns, March 30, 2012.

Selected Presentations, Invited Talks & Professional Service

Council Member (2010-2012) and Secretary-Treasurer (2012-2015), Section on Asia and Asian America, American Sociological Association.

Presider and Discussant. "Educational Inequalities in Asia and Asian America" session at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 2014, in San Francisco, CA.

Le, C.N.. "Mutual Mentoring to Develop and Support Asian American Studies in the Five Colleges," presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian American Studies, May 20, 2013, in Seattle, WA.

Organizer, Presider, and Discussant. "Asian American Ethnoscapes in Urban/Suburban California" regular session at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian American Studies, May 19, 2011, in New Orleans, LA.

Invited Speaker, "Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century: Connecting Asians, Americans, and Asian Americans," United States Army Corps of Engineers, Winchester, VA, May 4, 2011.

Invited Speaker, "Balancing Asian, American, and Asian American Identities in the Era of Globalization," annual conference of the East Coast Asian American Student Union, University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA, February 19, 2011.

Invited Speaker, "Asian American Stereotypes and the Illusion of Colorblindness," The Westminster Schools, Atlanta GA, October 1, 2010.

Organizer, Presider, and Discussant, "Emerging Connections Between Asians and Asian Americans," Section on Asia and Asian America session at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 16, 2010, in Atlanta, GA.

OAQs: Ocassionally Asked Questions

What exactly does C.N. stand for?
Basically, the C.N. is just the first and middle initials of my full name, Cuong Nguyen Le. However, it's been my experience over the years that unless people speak Vietnamese, chances are they will mispronounce my name. To make a long story short, I've gone by a few different variations of my real name and eventually compromised between ease of pronunciation on the one hand and a true reflection of my Vietnamese identity on the other by going by my first and middle initials.

I would like to add your class but it's filled up on SPIRE -- what can I do to try to get in?
I'm glad to hear that you're interested in taking my class. Unfortunately, before the semester begins, I do not have the ability to manually enroll anybody. I recommend that you keep checking SPIRE regularly from now until the start of the semester in case somebody de-enrolls and a spot opens up.

If you're not able to add through SPIRE by the start of the semester, come to class anyway and I will collect names of students wanting to add the course and presuming spots open up the first week of class, give priority to senior sociology majors, then seniors, then junior sociology majors, etc.

Contact Information

Asian American News

National Media Recognition

Favorite Words of Wisdom

We declare our rights to be a man
To be a human being
To be given the rights of a human being
To be respected as a human being
In this society, on this earth, in this day
Which we intend to bring into existence
By any means necessary.-- Malcolm X

Do, or do not. There is no try.-- Yoda ('The Empire Strikes Back')

To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal ideas from many people is research.-- Anonymous

It costs me less in every sense to incur the penalties of civil disobedience than it would to obey.-- Henry David Thoreau

Soon after The Buddha became well
known, people would come to see him
and they would ask, "Are you a god?"
The Buddha replied, "No."
They asked, "Are you a saint?"
The Buddha replied, "No."
They asked "Are you an angel?"
Again The Buddha replied, "No."
"So what are you?"
The Buddha replied, "I am awake."-- Anonymous

The philosophers have merely interpreted the world. The point however, is to change it.-- Karl Marx

It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.-- Audre Lorde